BRUCE GARRIOCH: A Spezza injury is a tough blow for the Senators. I know he wasn't playing well, but this is a lot of minutes. You have to think he was going to come around at some time or another. We aren't going to see this guy until March, possibly. They better hope they can stick in the playoff hunt.

IAN MENDES: They can hang their hat on the fact that when Spezza went down with a knee injury back in 2006-07, it forced some other guys to step up and play bigger roles. At least they have Fisher contributing as a legitimate No. 1 centre right now, but the loss of Spezza will definitely hurt them going forward.

GARRIOCH: Mike Fisher has been the best player on the team. Lot of pressure to be the No. 1. Jesse Winchester was skating in Spezza's spot (yesterday), but I think Chris Kelly will benefit from more minutes. They have to go out and find a centre, even just for depth. They are also going to have to find some money. They don't have a lot of room under the salary cap. I know that Josh Hennessy has been one of the top players in the AHL, but he's got a lot to prove at this level.

TIM BAINES: Somehow, some way, it'll be AK27 who steps up. We've been waiting for Kovalev to do something and outside of the hat trick the other night, it's been a whole lot of nothing. This is where Kovalev either justifies the five million bucks a year ... or he proves it was a huge mistake.

GARRIOCH: I think we discuss Kovie here on every Faceoff. By the way, welcome to Rogers Sportsnet's Ian Mendes. How rude of us to not even give you a hug. Now, if Jeff Carter is available in Philadelphia ... Ha!

BAINES: Yes, it was rude of us not to welcome Ian. Things like that sometimes get lost in the hustle and bustle of Digital Faceoff. I'm just hoping Ian brought his A-game today, unlike AK27 on some nights.

MENDES: Don't forget that Peter Regin started this season as the centre with Alex Kovalev, so I think before you go around shopping for guys, you see if the people from within can do the job. They will need more production from Ryan Shannon and Nick Foligno now. The pressure will be turned up a bit on those two guys in the absence of Spezza.

GARRIOCH: I like Ian. He keeps me grounded. I like the idea about Regin. The way the money is, the answers are going to have to come from within. There's not really a lot in the way of options. Maybe they can acquire Mike Comrie.

MENDES: I think even without Spezza, the top priority on this team should be to add another legitimate top-four defenceman.

BAINES: Tough to fill all those needs on a shoestring budget. Top-four defencemen don't grow on trees, ya know.

GARRIOCH: There are no top- four defencemen available. The teams that have them want to keep them.

BAINES: So that means Kaberle (Tomas, not Frankie) isn't available anymore? He would be the Sens' best defencemen. But I can't imagine the Sens could afford the price anyway.

MENDES: Kaberle is basically a point-a-game guy now in Toronto. I would assume he's off the trade market. Unless someone offers Brian Burke an American-born player for him.

BAINES: I don't want to say anything to agitate Burkie. He needs to lighten up, smile a bit. But just in case he's reading this (along with most of the hockey world), I think he's done a great job with the Leafs. Can you say playoffs? PLAYOFFS!

MENDES: We in the media have to eat a little crow here. Six weeks ago, we said the Kessel trade was one of the worst in recent memory and the Leafs were essentially out of the playoff race. But now there is legitimate enthusiasm in Leafs Nation -- which I unfortunately witnessed first-hand on Monday night. (BTW: Parade was cancelled to observe a moment of silence for Roy Halladay.)

GARRIOCH: Kessel has been unreal. Amazing what can happen when you let a guy do whatever he wants.

MENDES: Kessel is a productive NHLer at the age of 22. When was the last time the Leafs had a forward like that? Vincent Damphousse? It's been a long time coming in Toronto.

BAINES: "You're as cuddly as a cactus, And as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch! You're a bad banana, With a greasy black peel! You're a monster, Mr. Grinch! Your heart's an empty hole. Your brain is full of spiders. You've got garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch! I wouldn't touch you. With a 39 1/2-foot pole!"

MENDES: Tim, please tell me you went to Google, typed in "Grinch Song Lyrics" and just cut and pasted that into the e-mail. Because if you didn't, it's slightly disturbing. Bruce, no wonder you can't work an iPod. Who watches anything on tape anymore?

BAINES: Good point, Ian. Is that Beta or VHS? Bruce, do you still have the 8-track player in the car?

GARRIOCH: It's VHS. It doubles as a DVD. The Grinch is on tape.

MENDES: Wait until Bruce finds out about Blu-Ray.

BAINES: Bruce, if you need help with that iPod, you and Maria need to have kids. Maybe you can skip the poopy-diaper stage and just adopt. Teenagers are all gadget geeks.

MENDES: Erik Karlsson isn't at Chez Alfredsson anymore. Perhaps he can move in with you and give you some tech tips.

BAINES: Hey, I see that Gary Bettman tops The Hockey News' People of Power and Influence list? Why don't I see both of your names on the list?

GARRIOCH: I'm just shocked it's not Don Brennan.

BAINES: Yeah, if you asked Brennan, he'd rank himself first, second and third on the power list.

MENDES: My name is on a list somewhere between Brennan and Radek Bonk.